Best tactics: don't get killed.




Jose Chavez: "Trent! It's good to see my kind of scum."

Dodge everything your enemy shoot at you, take down his shield. throw a cannonball in his face and his ships goes BOOM

Reduce the enemy's shield and hull bars to zero, while avoiding having the same done to you. Guaranteed, 100% success.

Realistically, so long as you can use engine kill effectively, you should win most dogfights. Everyone has their own style though. Experimentation's the key.

I'm not sure there's a one size fits all answer. Play until your hand resembles a claw as though humans were genetically engineered to hold a mouse and until you see green dwarfs when you close your eyes. Seeing Juni in your sleep also seems to be perfectly acceptable. The threads running where people are arguing the merits of LF's v VHF's or energy weps v missiles shows the real answer....who knows? Find your own style...expirament....dont be afraid to get killed a few times!!!

It differs from ship to ship. I mostly test the mod I'm working on so the speeds and handling are different but it generally works like this.

If your ship has more armor, and worse handling than your enemy, you can usually survive a head on fight or as I like to call it, Tank Fighting

If your ship is faster and more delicate than your enemy, use your speed and finesse to maneuver your ship to their tail and attack from the backside, most enemies have very little firepower at the back of their ship.

If you are in similar ships, there isnt much you can do but outfight them. If you are badly damaged, run away.

you cant realy ask for a best stratagie because some people cant pull them off. i mean i cant hit a planet with a mine so dont bother trying but someone else might use them to a point were there suffering money issues.

I dont take money only girl giggles- Thumb Wars

I agree with parabolix on that it differs from ship to ship. One particularily interesting thing I'd enjoy doing before battleship mods was to get a freighter that could carry good turrets and a good shield, go into turret mode, and shoot all around. =D Of course, that only works if you've got escorts. Good enough for player convoys in MP, I suppose.

it's important to use a loadout you feel comfortable with. people might say a ship sucks, but try it out.

then, thrust, strafe, and aim!

strafe! the three VHF's are equal in strength
You wouldn't use a cucumber to chop a tomato!

Me, do as much damage as possible on approach, while strafing and turning to one side to parabolic-ly come around to his weak side. He can't do the same for you, unless he knows what he's doing, and will have to turn slowly without guns to bear. As he begins to come around, you thruster up close and personal to him, and stick there like glue, using the strafing thrusters to dogde side to side to avoid any rear firing guns he may have, and to avoid his team-mates (If applicable). If he uses engine kill, well, simply run over him and return the favor. If you have a cap ship, going up against something less, RUN 'EM OVER!

Captain of the Kep Salu

Trekkie and proud of it!

CRY HAVOC, AND LET LOOSE THE DOGS OF WAR! Retribution shall be quick, mercy shall not be given, the seeds of liberty's destruction have been sowed. (Said by Bhg guild master Richardson when bhg stabbed in the back by liberty.)

Retribution shall be quick, mercy shall not be given, the seeds of liberty's destruction have been sowed. Time to sow the seeds of death, and watch as

If you have trouble aiming, use a fast-refire "leadfinder" weapon that has the same projectile speed as your main weapons. Fire that weapon until you start scoring hits, then cut in with your primaries. That prevents you wasting energy on a shot that misses the first time- say you have a VHF loaded down with Diamondbacks- they have a 2.00 refire and drain a lot of juice, so if your shots go wide, they are a waste of time and energy. Instead, locate a 4.00, 5.88, or 8.33 refire weapon with a projectile speed equal to that of your Diamondbacks. Do not fire the diamondbacks until you hit with your leadfinder.

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Proud owner and operator of a Patriot!
Proud owner and operator of a Stiletto!
Proud ally of the Bounty Hunters' Guild!
Proud hater of Nomad weapons!
Proud user of all things underestimated!
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For the last time...there is no "N" in "TURRET"!

using the strafing thrusters to dogde side to side ?

richardson have i been missin' something? when i use "strafe" controls on the keyboard instead of mouse control the rate of sideways motion is negligible.
if you hit thrust at the same time does it have an effect

also a few of you mention engine kill but not reverse thrust. i use reverse to keep a target in my sights as it tries to come around me. by baking away i improve my angle at the same time as turning. i'm sure i aint' alone in that but reckon its's worth a mention

Reverse thrust can be very handy, but if you dont know what you're doing: one mine and BOOM

Ah, reverse thrust is really too slow to make a diffrence. Sure, it'll catch 'em off guard, but once they get a re-bead on you, you're going to slow to avoid fire.

And yes, turning and strafing does show. It increases you turning radius immensely if you don't have the technique down pat, and it will make you pull a slide if you do have it right.

my best tactic is just running away, or even better dont start a dog fight in the first place, lol

seriously, i just do what i can to kill the enemy, without killing myself...